The Price of Wrath
by BlueCotingaGirl
Summary: One day, America and his friends are mysteriously ambushed. Soon after, Lithuania goes missing. England suspects that the two incidents are related, but why would someone be after them? Some USxUK and LietxPol
1. Chapter 1: Insecure emotions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.**

**Chapter 1  
**

Like every summer in the city of New York, the weather was peaceful and calm, except for a cool breeze. It was the perfect weather for anyone to do their favorite activities, especially in the case of a certain bespectacled blond.

_"Don't wanna be an American Idiot, don't want a nation under the new media..."_

"Hello?" said the energetic American as he answered his phone.

"Where the hell are you? We've been waiting for 20 minutes!" replied a very familiar British voice.

"Take a chill pill, Arthur. I would be there, but the line at McDonald's was crazy."

"Can you not eat those bloody burgers for one day?"

"What? How could you say that you f...oh, hi Arthur." He smiled nervously.

His big "brother", Arthur Kirkland, was standing right in front of him, glancing with irritated green eyes. He wasn't the only one there; all four of Alfred F. Jones's friends had arrived before him.

Toris Lorinatis went up to Alfred and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine, don't worry about it." Alfred grinned at him. This wasn't unusual for Toris, who was kind and forgiving.

Francis Bonnefoy, on the other hand, was complaining that Alfred didn't use the time to pick a nicer outfit. Arthur got angry and started lecturing him, which led to *sigh* yet another childish squabble between the two. Francis's younger brother, on the other hand, just asked if anyone wanted pasta.

"Don't you ever think about anything rather than clothes?"

"But they are the most important thing, right?"

"Not again!"

"Pasta, anyone?"

"WOULD BOTH OF YOU JUST CHILL?" the others stared in shock at the person who just yelled at them. Toris was staring at them with an angry expression on his face. They were all surprised even though he had been acting like this for the past three days. The once calm Lithuanian had suddenly become emotionally unstable, and the brightness of his green eyes had dulled.

"I'm really sorry about that, but...let's just get a move on."

"Yeah, he's right. We act so childish sometimes..."

"Sorry, Toris..."

"It's..ok..so, where are we going, anyway?"

"Ever heard of central park?"

"You mean the old one with all the historical stuff?"

"Yeah, that one. It's NOT that old."

"Well, what are we waiting for? I wanna go exploring!"

As they walked, everyone just brushed off on the incident-except for Toris himself. Unknown to the others, there was a dreadful reason for his behavior. It wasn't Ivan beating him again, as everyone else had thought. No, it was because every time he hung out with Alfred, he felt like someone was following them, only for others to call him paranoid when he mentioned it. Today was no different; he felt like someone was at their back waiting to strike. Like a divine conspiracy was taking place.

Just then, he heard a light rustling sound. He turned his head and saw a moving bush. Eyeing it suspiciously, Toris walked over and watched in horror as something sharp appeared to be thrown out of the shrub.

* * *

Harold Norm had been living as a recluse for a year now.

His entire social life had been destroyed when he was in college. He had committed a horrible crime at that time, where his girlfriend had cheated on him, and he mercilessly beat her in blind rage. The only witness of the crime was his best friend, who swore not to tell anyone.

But some time later, authorities found out about it, and sent him to jail for four years. The secret had leaked out somehow, and, Harold thought, the only way that could have happened was by someone's betrayal.

The only person left to blame.

In his prison term of four years, he had been thinking about nothing but the one who seemingly ratted him out. He'd lost all respect for him now.

As soon as he was released, he'd found himself a secret hiding place that no one knew about (until his younger sister followed him there one day), and built strange electronics out of kitchen supplies and old car parts.

He always hid them out of sight, and was very good at it.

In addition of his erratic interest in technology, he also dyed his hair black and only wore dark clothes.

One day, however, he took one of the machines out and played around with it for a few minutes before deciding to take a walk.

"Harry, you're going out, right?"

He looked up at his 17-year-old sister. She was standing in the doorway, dressed as a stereotypical goth girl. "Um, yes, Karey."

"Oh, okay. Could you stop by at the art store get some paint supplies? Oh, and I also have this outfit at the dry cleaner's, can you pick that up also?"

"Ergh. Fine." Under his breath, he added, "I hate you for interrupting me as usual."

And with that, he went out the door.

Karey rolled her eyes. "Maybe the fresh air might bring him to his senses."

* * *

Toris was the only one who saw the sharp blade in the air... which seemed to be aimed at Alfred.

"Alfred! Watch out!" Alfred let out a surprised gasp as Toris suddenly shoved him.

Alfred fell forward and landed on top of Arthur, Francis, and Feliciano.

"What the hell was that, Al?" Arthur was even more irritated now.

"Toris was..." Al turned to Toris, who was on his knees.

"T-Toris? Are you alright?" No answer...

Everyone ran over to him.

Their eyes widened in shock as the saw the piece of blue glass, now stained with red.

They shifted their gaze to the Lithuanian holding his arm in pain.

* * *

Karey was applying black nail polish on her fingers when she heard the door slam into the wall.

Her brother was there, with a rather sour expression on his face.

"Heyy.." his voice seemed to trail off with a disappointed tone, "I've got your art stuff and clothes, so take them and don't talk to me. I'm in a bad mood."

"Well that didn't work out very well." Karey mumbled as she walked away. "But at least he isn't saying the same things over anymore."

Harold sat on an old crate. He was disappointed, since he didn't get anything good out of the fresh air.

He would have to go out again tomorrow.

_To be continued..._

**This is my first suspense builder fic, so please forgive me if it seems a little boring.**

**The next chapter will take 1-3 days to be put up, depending on how busy I am.**

**sincerely,**

**Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Something's Wrong

**This is the second chapter of the story.**

**WARNING: Drama, angst, USxUK moment.  
**

**Chapter 2: Something's Wrong**

Toris knew he had to do something when he saw the shard of glass.

Without hesitation, he pushed Alfred out of the way, knowing he would be safe.

But as soon as he did, a sharp pain shot up his arm, and he fell...

"Toris! You're bleeding!" yelled Alfred. The horrified American tried to stay calm as he helped him stand.

Arthur quickly tore the sleeve on his right arm and wrapped it around Toris's wound.

"W-what were you thinking? You could have been killed for God's sake!"

"Shut up, Arthur! Don't make it worse than it should be!"

"How did this happen?"

"It's probably some gangsters from across the street. The sooner we get to Central Park, the better off we'll be."

Toris, unwilling to speak, just nodded. He now knew that something was definitely wrong. Someone **had **been stalking them. And by the way he had attacked them, he seemed to want to murder someone really bad.

20 minutes passed before they got to Central Park. They were all walking at a slower pace than usual, due to their worry for their friend. The incident had taken a huge toll on the brunette; he stared at the ground as he walked, didn't talk at all, and freaked out whenever he heard a rustling sound.

Alfred was the most worried of all. He had remembered something similar that happened recently. His thoughts shifted to what happened three days ago...

-**Flashback-**

_"Alfred, I think there's someone following us."_

_"Ah, chill, Toris, the hero's here! No one's gonna mess with us!"_

_"But every time I look behind me, there's always this shadow..."_

_"Don't worry, Ivan's not here. You're just seeing things."_

_"It's not Iva...AAAHHHHHH!"_

_Alfred gasped as Toris suddenly grabbed his arm and ran. Alfred could barely run at the same pace, and he didn't know where they were going. Minutes seemed like hours until Alfred finally realized where they were going: the house of the Soviet Union. As soon as they entered the house, Toris let go of him and rushed up the stairs._

_From the living room, Alfred could hear the brunette's frightened yells._

_"W-what's wrong w-with Toris?" The younger Baltic brothers, Raivis and Eduard, had stormed in as soon as they heard them come in._

_In the end, they had to call Feliks to coax him out of his room._

_"Liet, you can, like, come out of the closet now..."_

_"FELIKS! Th-there was this guy...he had a knife...he looked like he was gonna murder someone!"_

_"Like, you worry wayyy too much, Liet."_

_The other nations could only watch as Feliks held the crying Lithuanian in his arms._

_Alfred:*thinks*"Yep, he's definitely got paranoia..."_

**-End Flashback-**

"Al! We're heerree!" Alfred smiled as Feliciano said those words.**  
**

Central Park. Once you're there, all your thoughts will instantly vanish into the beautiful foliage.

Everyone hoped to forget about the accident.

**-12:00 P.M.-**

"Are you done with those bloody burgers? How many of them did you buy, anyway?"

"Ummmmmmm, I don't know...five?"

"If you keep eating so much of those things, you'd probably won't be able to go as far as your front door."

"Fiiinnnee, I'll just get started on the soda."

"What is it with you and junk food?"

"It's really good! You should try it sometimes!"

"What? You want me to end up like YOU? Not a chance, you git!"

"Arthur, could you please leave Al alone? Maybe he just likes them too much..."

Both blondes stopped arguing when they heard the voice. "Why don't we just, I don't know, go to the zoo or something?"

"Yayyy! I wanna see some cute animals!"

Ignoring Feliciano, Alfred said, "Toris, stop trying to act like the hero here. That's MY job. And why did you have to protect me from that piece of flying glass? I told you, I can handle whatever comes at me!"

Toris closed his eyes, obviously struck by his words.

"Oh..that was a bit harsh...I'm sorry..."

"I-it's alright. *sigh* I protected you...because you're my friend. I just couldn't let this happen to you. You weren't prepared to defend yourself, so if I didn't do what i did, you would have been badly hurt, or worse..."

"T-Toris..." Alfred didn't know what to say.

* * *

"Harold, when are you coming home?"

Harold, who had been writing in a notebook, stared at his sister in irritation. He thought she wasn't coming back.

"I don't know. Whenever I feel like it." Under his breath, he added, "Like I even want to go."

"I heard that."

"Eh, whatever. I'm just gonna stay here. It's bad enough that we have to live with our crazy aunt."

"Fine. Just tell me if you need anything." *thinks* "My brother seriously needs a hobby."

She left, her long red hair trailing behind her.

"Thank God." He said as he scribbled into his notebook again.

Freedom, Day 366.

"Today was the same as every other day I had since I came home. I woke up early, ate breakfast, went to buy hardware, get bugged by Karey, and all that other stuff.

However, today will be the first day, in years, that I saw...him.

He was there, walking with this stupid smile on his face. It made me want to beat the living hell out of him. He was wearing those crazily expensive leather clothes while forgetting about me altogether...

I even tried to get his attention, but I ended up failing. Stupid former best friend."

He had just finished writing when he looked out the window, and thinking he saw a familiar face there.

* * *

-** 3:00 P.M.-**

"That was so much fun! And thanks for taking us to that fancy restaurant, _fratello_!" *It means big brother in Italian*

"Thanks for appreciating my present, Feli. I knew what I was doing, of course."

"For once, I'll agree with you, Francis."

Toris smiled. At least everyone was getting along now. They had gone to the Central Park zoo, played a bit of soccer, and gone to a really nice restaurant. The best part was, no one thought of arguing when they hung out, and when they did, they quickly settled the dispute.

"That day was totally awesome! But we all gotta go home now." Alfred sounded quite disappointed.

"That sure was! Come on Francis, let's go home and make dinner!"

As Feliciano and Francis walked off, Arthur turned to Alfred.

"Um, take care Alfred."

"Until next time, Arthur."

They hugged each other, as Toris secretly took a picture with his cellphone...

"Taxi!" Arthur called out. As he got in, he waved at Alfred.

Alfred waved back, looking at him lovingly. Then he turned to Toris.

"Hey, you gonna be alright, Tor? Do you want me to walk with you?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Just take care of yourself."

"Okay. When I get home, I'll call you."

And with that, he merrily walked home.

Toris watched as he faded into the distance. Then he turned to walk back to his own home.

As he walked, he wondered what his brothers would think if they found out about his arm. Would they freak out, or just worry for a while and stop?

As he considered that, his eyes fell on the broken down house next to him. He heard yelling, which was clearly audible.

Curious, he went closer to investigate. Putting his ear to the wall, he froze as he heard what the man was saying:

"He's the one who did it."

"It's all his fault!"

"I'll get him someday."

"He's gonna get beat up."

"... Alfred F. Jones!"

At the last phrase, Toris pulled himself from the wall, breathing heavily. Now full of disbelief and outrage, he ran from the building.

As he ran, he mentally shouted, "I GOTTA TELL ALFRED!"

He was stopped in his tracks when he ran into something.

He looked up and gasped. A well-built man with dark hair and gray eyes was staring at him, and he was definitely not pleased.

"Excuse me kid, what are you doing on my property?"

Toris didn't answer, silenced by the fear that ran through his blood.

* * *

"Finally! I'm back!"

Alfred had just gotten home and was now relaxing on the couch. He decided to text someone, and as he took out his phone, he remembered.

He was going to call Toris.

He selected the number in his contact list, and waited for him to pick up.

"Hey, it's me, Toris. I'm not here right now, so please leave a message."

Alfred was left a bit confused. He **did **tell Toris that he was going to call, right?

He tried a few more times, but without success.

After the 20th time, he grew worried.

After call #49, he went back to his contact list.

* * *

Arthur was enjoying a cup of tea when the phone rang.

"Good afternoon, Arthur Kirkland speaking."

"QUICK! GET OVER HERE! SOMETHING'S GONE TERRIBLY WRONG!"

* * *

**That's all I have to offer for this chapter.**

**Anyways, rate and review.**

**Until next time, **

**Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Searching for answers

**Third Chapter! I'm up to it sooner than I thought :)**

**Anyways, here's something I forgot to mention last chapter:**

**If you're wondering what Harold Norm has to do with the rest of the story, let's just say he (and Karey as well) play an important role in the plot as the others try to find Toris.**

**Well, here it is!**

**Chapter 3**

"A-Alfred? Why are you yelling, you bloody git?"

"IT'S AN EMERGENCY! JUST GET OVER HERE, AND BRING FRANCIS WITH YOU!"

"But whyyy?"

"Get over here right now or I'll shove a hamburger down your throat tomorrow!"

That was enough for Arthur. He called Francis to tell him, and quickly drove over to Alfred's place. As soon as he arrived, Francis was there as well, and Feliciano, who tagged along.

"Big brother France, why are we here again?"

Arthur sighed. "Alfred. He was screaming at me to come. What is it this time? Roach infestation?"

They opened the door, only to find Alfred with the phone in his hand, crying uncontrollably. Next to him were Matthew and Feliks, trying to comfort him.

"Alfred! What's wrong?"

Hearing the voice, Alfred finally looked up. His blue eyes were puffy and stained with tears. He managed to hold back his sobs to say:

"It's T-Toris. He wouldn't pick up his phone, and I think...s-something bad's happened to him."

Francis sat down next to him and placed an arm around his shoulder. "It'll be okay...Toris is probably just busy right now, maybe he'll call you back..."

Just then there was loud, frantic knocking at the door.

England opened it; in rushed Raivis and Eduard. Eduard looked worried and afraid, while Raivis seemed close to tears.

"Hey, guys! Have you seen Toris? He hasn't come home, and when we tried calling him, he didn't pick up..."

There was a moment of silence.

"No, this can't be...I was supposed to protect him, I'm the hero..." and with those words, he ran into his bedroom and grabbed a piece of paper from under his pillow.

It was a picture of him and Toris. Back when he still worked for him, Alfred had let Toris sleep with him due to having nightmares of Ivan. When they woke up the next morning, he found out that Arthur took a picture while they slept, and denied the incident. Although everyone forgot about it, Alfred still kept the photo, secretly hiding it under his pillow.

Just the memory of it caused him to burst into tears again.

He had failed. Now one of his best friends was missing, and probably cold, scared, and hurt.

"Don't...worry, buddy...I'll come for ya..."

* * *

As he stared out the window, Harold saw a group of kids in his backyard.

He sighed, wondering if they did that just to annoy him.

Ever since he moved in, he found out that 8 year olds liked to use this place as a playground.

And it wasn't just them; occasionally there would be obnoxious teenagers running through the place, laughing and cursing.

He tried to continue his journal entry. As his eyes moved to the window again, he saw the kids playing and...a brown haired teen?

Hmm, that guy looked awfully familiar. He reminded him of his best friend.

"No, that can't be him. He wouldn't pay attention to me like this, let alone send me a messenger."

"Then again, does he really care about me?"

"No, no, no, no! He dosen't give a crap about me! Ugh, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now!"

He then went on, telling the wall about his college experience and how sad he was. But the whole time, he felt like someone was listening.

"Harry, are you all right?" Karey was back. Apparently, she was here to check on him again.

"Oh, it's you. I just need some fresh air right now."

"Well, then, go ahead." She left for home. "Same old Harold all over again."

Harold literally ran outside. Something about that brunette teen bothered him; but what?

* * *

Toris was breathing heavily, although he considered himself lucky to be breathing at all.

He was bound tightly by the ropes around him, which was quite uncomfortable. It only added to the pain he suffered from his other injuries.

In addition to a gashed arm, he now had several bruises and scars, and was sure that he had some broken bones.

He wondered where he was. The man had blindfolded and beaten him inside the house, and when he could finally see again, he was in a pitch dark room.

Another worry to add to his already long list. It ran through his mind:

"What was Alfred doing right now? What about Arthur? Francis and Feliciano? Feliks? His brothers? Everyone else? Do they even know I'm stuck here?

Well, maybe not here, but still, they do notice something, right?"

Just then the door opened.

The same man that beat him was standing right in front of him.

"Oh, God..." Toris closed his eyes, bracing himself in case he got hit again.

"Oh, finally talking, are we? Now answer my question: What were you doing in my backyard?"

"Um, what backyard? I don't remember anything about any backyard..."

"Don't play dumb with me, kid! You know something about Alfred!"

"Oh, uh, I don't know any Alfreds. Who are we talking about again?"

"You know who I'm talking about? Tell me everything you know about him!"

As he said that, he raised his fist, like he was going to hit him if he didn't tell. Toris knew that he was barely strong enough to survive another punch from this guy; but if anything was more important, it was taking care of his friends.

"No...I'm not telling..." he said, in barely a whisper.

"What?"

"I said I'm not telling! What do you want with him, anyway? I swear if you lay a finger on him, I'll..."

"SHUT UP!" He was cut off by a sharp smack across the face, causing him to flinch in pain.

"I'm...not...going to say anything...don't even...try..."

"I'll deal with you later." The door slammed shut.

The Lithuanian closed his eyes. His suspicions had been confirmed. That man was trying to kill Alfred.

"Don't..worry, Alfred...he won't hurt you..I'll make sure of that...somehow..."

* * *

"Alfred! You can't just leave now, you don't even know where you're going!"

Eduard was trying to hold back the American, who was trying to step out of the door.

"But Toris needs my help, and I'm the hero, so don't try to stop me!"

"You have no idea where he is!"

"Oh yes I do! He's...on second thought, I don't know."

"Knock it off!" Arthur was now even more serious than before. "We've got to get some ideas first."

"Like what? We don't even have any clues to start with, except that he's been gone for a few hours..."

"Then it's time for Detective Poland to, like, totally spring into action again!"

Feliks grabbed a magnifying glass from the counter and did his most magnificent pose.

"Very nice. We might need your skills for this case. Now stop posing and get over here."

"So, like, any theories?"

Silence. Then Raivis spoke.

"D-do you think that I-Ivan has something to do with this?"

Everyone stared at each other, whispering. That was the most probable explanation. Ivan.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Russia's!"

* * *

-**Is worn out from all the action-**

**Wow, that took a while to write. **

**Toris is in deep trouble now...when will the group find out what REALLY happened to him?**

**That might take a while, especially with the conclusion they came to. Sigh.**

**Tune in next time for chapter 4.**

**With all due respect,**

**Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Into thin air

**Finally, here's chapter 4.**

**It'll take me some time to update from now on, finals week is a pain =_=**

**Chapter 4**

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Cause Toris isn't getting hurt as much as he used to."

Although everyone agreed to go to Russia's for questioning, Eduard had his doubts. He knew his brother very well, and could easily tell if he had been tortured. But for a long time, Toris was happy, and he was always fine whenever he was around Ivan.

"He might have been scared into hiding it from you guys. Now open the door, Ivan!" Alfred ordered as he knocked on the wooden door.

The door opened. But it wasn't Ivan; it was Ukraine and Belarus.

"Oh, hello, friends! What brings you here?"

"Could you help me? Big brother's in the closet and he won't come out. He's been in there for three hours."

"Sure, we'll help you. We've got some business to do anyway. But could you go upstairs while we do so?"

Inside the house, Arthur heard Ivan mumbling something in Russian. "Ivan? Are you in there?"

"Ahhhhhhh! Go away!"

"It's me, Arthur. You can come out now; Belarus isn't here."

"Arthur? W-what are you guys doing here?" A scared-looking Ivan poked his head out of the doorway.

"We just need to know..."

"Okayyy, start talking! Where's Toris?"

"I don't know where he is..."

"Don't play dumb with me, just tell us where he is and everything will be all right.."

"Cut it out, you bloody git! Now, Ivan, do you know anything about where Toris is? Because he's been missing for a while.."

"I swear, I don't know anything. I saw Eduard and Raivis calling him, and he wasn't coming home anytime soon...I wanted to call him as well, but then Belarus came along and I had to hide in the closet for god knows how long..."

He stood there, shaking slightly. Everyone thought, maybe he is innocent.

"Great. Now what do we do?"

No one had an answer to that. With Ivan proven innocent, they had no more leads. As if Toris simply vanished into thin air.

Then Feliciano spoke. "We could hold another world meeting. If we let everyone else know, we could find Toris more quickly."

"Yeah. We can do that. Let's hope it works though."

* * *

**-The next morning-**

"Harold? Are you there?"

No answer. Karey knocked on the door again.

"Harry?"

Harold was inside one of his rooms when he heard her.

"Dude, open up before I break down your door."

He quickly ran out of his room and closed the door before heading to the front of the house.

"There you are. What took you so long?"

"I was just...playing with my electronics again. Now why are _you _here?"

"I...wanted to bring you something to eat, and see if you're okay. You've been a lot less...weird since last week."

"Weird? Who says I'm weird? I thought for once, you weren't gonna annoy me!"

"I wasn't trying to annoy you, I just wanted to visit! But if you really want to be alone, then fine. Be that way."

After looking at him with cold blue eyes, she walked away. Harold stared after her.

"Good riddance. You're more maddening than ever, not to mention I've got ANOTHER problem to worry about..."

He managed to pick himself up and go back to the room.

* * *

**-yesterday, 5:00 P.M.-**

After questioning Ivan, everyone parted ways to alert the other nations about the meeting.

"Alfred?"

The American turned around to face Arthur..

"Al, I'm really sorry this happened. I know how you feel..."

"Oh, Arthur..." Alfred wrapped his arms around the surprised Brit.

"Owwwwwwwww! Stop...hugging...me...let me go!"

"Oh, sorry."

"I'll find 'em, I will!" They both glanced at Poland, who was talking to himself.

"Don't worry, Liet, they're not gonna get away with this! No one takes Lithy away from me!"

Deciding not to listen anymore, they smiled at each other before going their separate ways.

* * *

_"Toris? Toris?"_

_Alfred was searching for his friend in an alley. The place was dark, cold, and clammy._

_It felt like forever; Alfred was getting more frantic by the second. Then, as he calls for him again, he sees someone._

_A boy with shoulder-length brown hair looks back at him. "Toris!"_

_"A-Alfred?"_

_"Toris, it's me! Come on, let's get out of here!"_

_"No! It's a trap, we can't go ahead!" Toris was staring at him in concern._

_"What do you mean? I don't see anyone." Alfred said as he walked away._

_"Don't go, Alfre...AAAHHHHHHH! Help!"_

_"TORIS!" He ran back to where they were, but it was too late; Toris was already gone._

_He'd failed. He'll never find Toris now. He hung his head as he started to cry.  
_

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Was all he could say._

***_Beeeeeeeepppp*_**

Alfred opened his eyes. He sighed in relief as he realized it was all a dream.

He looked at the clock. 6:30 A.M.

At first, he wondered why the alarm went off that early. Then he remembered.

"Oh, we have the world meeting! I'd better get ready!"

* * *

**And that's the end of Chapter 4.**

**Review for this chapter, please!**

**Signed, **

**Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Thinking of You

**And the world meeting has begun. Everyone's here, and they're getting ready to discuss what they should do.  
**

**Iggy: Wait not everyone's here yet!  
**

**Me: Chill, I'll get to that soon, Iggy. So here's chapter 5.**

**I don't own the show.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 5**

-**8:00 A.M.-**

Alfred was driving his car a bit haphazardly this morning.

Due to his worry, he'd forgotten about a few important things as well- like refilling the gas tank, for example.

Frustrated, he pulled over at the gas station and reluctantly accepted his delay.

When the tank was full, he was back on the road, but had to pull over again because he forgot to buy breakfast.

When he came out of the store, he spotted a familiar green object in the middle of an empty lot.

He ran over to it to get a better view. It appeared to be half-buried, so he dug it up.

"No way. Is this what I think it is?" When he completely uncovered it, his suspicions had been confirmed.

**-10:30 A.M.-  
**

_"M-Mr. England?"_

_"Hmm? Oh, good aftenoon, Toris. Please, call me Arthur."_

_As everyone got up to go home from the world conference, Toris, who was having financial problems, went to ask England for a solution._

_"If you want to get out of that problem, then...you should work for someone."_

_"That sounds like a good idea...but I don't want to work for Germany!"_

_"That's okay, you don't have to. Now-and I can't believe I'm saying this-you should go and work at America's place."_

_"Mr. America? But I barely even know him."_

_-A few minutes later-_

_"Alfred! Could you stop eating those donuts and listen for a second?"_

_"Mmmffmf...what now?"_

_"Okay. I'd like to introduce you to someone."_

_*Toris walks in* "G-good day,"_

_"Alfred, this is Lithuania, or Toris, whichever you prefer."_

_"Hey, nice to meet ya Toris! So how was the meeting?"_

_"It was fantastic, Mr. America..."_

_"Alfred, I have a favor to ask of you. Lithuania's looking for a job to help out his economy. Is it okay if he works for you for a while?"_

_"Sure he can! Pretty soon, we'll be BFF's! Oh, and you can call me Alfred." _

_Well, it was nice that he got a job, but BFF's? This was gonna be more than what Toris bargained for._

**Crraaccckk!**

Toris jerked awake from the noise. He felt some irritation at being brought out of his dream so rudely. But on the other hand, he'd slept quite well.**  
**

"I can't believe I actually remembered that." He thought, smiling brightly.

His thoughts were interrupted by some more pounding outside, which quickly changed to wood smashing.

"Oh, it's just him in combat practice again."

Then he heard a conversation going on outside, but that wasn't the matter right now.

Soon after the man took his anger out on Toris, he told him everything about his intentions-and how he felt towards Alfred. It was all pretty unnerving to someone like the Lithuanian, but he had nothing else to do but listen to him.

Now he wished he hadn't paid attention. In the middle of the night, he had a nightmare of Alfred's brutal murder, and stayed awake for an hour before falling asleep again.

The nightmare was the least of his worries.

It had only been one day, but his body was bruised and battered, and his blue dress shirt was torn in a few places. He wasn't sure what else the guy would do to him, but he knew the punishment would be slow and painful.

Yet, he wasn't worried about what the man would do to him. The question was, what would he do to Alfred?

All of a sudden, there was a loud pounding on the door. It flew open almost instantly, and Toris found himself face to face with his captor.

"Good morning, kid." He was smiling now. But that smile wasn't a kind one.

"Oh, dear."

* * *

**-9:00 A.M., World Conference-**

By that time, every country had arrived and knew what was going on.

Well, everyone except for America, who was late for once.

"Where is that bloody git?" England said, pacing around.

"Isn't America the one who called this meeting in the first place?" Asked Germany.

"Unfortunately, yes, he was." England sat down, arms crossed in annoyance.

At that moment, the door burst open. There stood America, panting heavily.

"There you are! What took you so l...Alfred?" England's expression softened when he saw America's ultra-serious face.

"Arthur...I was on my way to the meeting...and...and..."

"And?"

Though hesitant at first, he managed to say: "I found this in the street." His voice seemed to crack as he got the words out.

Everyone gasped as he showed everyone what he was holding.

In his hand was Toris's cell phone. It was covered in a few scratch marks and small, but clearly visible red stains.

* * *

**-sigh- Now they know why Toris wasn't calling them back...poor nations...**

**But at least they have a lead now, sort of.**

**After this, a lot of stuff happens. **

**What happens? I can't tell you, but you can find out by reading the upcoming chapters.**

**-Blue Cotinga Girl,**

**A Fellow Author  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Putting together the puzzle

**That took time, but the world conference finally starts.**

**This chapter may seem shorter than usual, since I'm centering it on the meeting and not really the other sub-plots.  
**

**Chapter 6**

"I-is that...?"

Alfred nodded sadly. Matthew put a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Alfred." His brother just shook his head in response.

"What do we do now?"

Silence.

"Hang on, give me the phone."

Alfred handed the phone to Eduard, who pressed random buttons, mumbling to himself.

"Password...uh..."

Everyone looked on in wonder; Eduard was probably up to something there.

When he was done playing with the keyboard, he read out loud:

"Most recent texts: yesterday, 3:05 P.M."

He opened that file, wondering what it could be.

"Wait- what is this-" His excitement turned to shock when he read the message:

**Hey, Alfred, it's me. I'm on my way home now, but when I get back, my brothers might freak if they find out about my arm...should I tell them, or just let it heal and forget about it?**

**Gosh, I feel so awkward talking abou**

The sentence had abruptly stopped there. It seemed that Toris had never finished writing the text, and thus was unable to send it.

Everyone exchanged dark looks, and there was quiet murmuring in the room.

"What does he mean, if we found out about his arm..."

Eduard looked suspiciously at Alfred and Arthur. "Arthur, what is this? What happened to his arm?" He spoke as firmly as he could.

The two blondes exchanged nervous glances. "Uh, well..."

"We sorta had this, um..."

"Uh huh?" He sounded even more serious now, and he was starting to resemble an irritated Sweden.

"Okay! I'll talk! *speaking very quickly* So Toris was going to the park with us and..."

"Mhmmmm?"

"We were just blocks away, when suddenly..."

"Al, you don't have to talk that fast."

"...and then we all panicked and stuff, went to central park, and started to go home after that! Now Matthew, what were you saying?"

"Never mind."

At hearing those words, Estonia had a look of sheer astonishment on his face.

"Wha- but- why didn't you tell us or anything? We were worried to death about him, too!"

"Sorry, but you heard what Toris said; you'd probably freak out after that."

"NO I WOULDN'T...okay, maybe I will, but we're his brothers, we have a right to know! Personally, I would've just told him to be more careful next time! I swear when I find him, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind..."

The entire world watched as Eduard expressed his indignation. After what seemed like hours, he stopped, and put his head down on the table.

"Toris...why..." For the first time in weeks, Eduard's eyes filled with tears.

"It wasn't your fault." Came Alfred's comforting voice.

"I'm really sorry for doing that, Al, the stress of this was too much..."

"Calm down, dude, we'll figure something out- wait, didn't we already do that?"

England's eyes lit up. "Maybe he's right! Francis, Feliciano, remember when we were walking to Central Park?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Remember when that glass flew out of nowhere, and we all thought it was just gangsters?"

"Mhmmm. So, what were you thinking, British dude?"

"Maybe we weren't attacked by gangsters after all. I didn't see anyone across the street at the time of the accident, and if that's true, then that would mean someone was trying to hit us from a secret hiding spot."

"Which means, like, perhaps Liet was the only one who saw the attacker's face."

"That's not all. That glass looked like it was from a broken window, and since no windows in that area were broken, the attacker must have broken it off in preparation for an ambush."

"And Liet was like, really paranoid, so this must have been what it was all about."

"These are all good conclusions! Now, anyone have an idea of who this guy is?"

"...eh, I got nothing."

Silence.

Once again, they were back to square one.

But the meeting wasn't a waste of time, either. At least they figured some things out. Now if only they knew one more thing.

The clue that would be the missing piece of the puzzle.

* * *

**And that's it. Meeting closed.**

**But this isn't the last one they'll have, they will have a few more, just not with everyone in the world.**

**Review please?**

**Yours Truly, **

**Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Unexpected Visitors

**Chapter 7 is here! **

**In this chapter, two characters will have guests when they least expect it.  
**

**And a certain bird will make his appearance in this chapter!  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 7**

**-7:30 A.M., 4 days since the disappearance-**

Francis had never been up this early before.

All he had done for the past few minutes was sit by his window.

He was going through stress like never before, and felt tired all the time. In addition, he didn't talk very much, and wasn't even in the mood to flirt with anyone, much to the shock of the other nations. For once, they all prayed for Francis to go back to his romance-crazed self.

"Chiiip! Chip! Cheeep!" Francis looked over at Pierre. The little bird was also acting strangely, and nearly flew into the window a couple of times. This morning was no exception. He was chirping and pecking at the window, and got so obnoxious that Francis couldn't take it any longer.

"Fine, go! Just leave me alone right now!"

As soon as Francis opened the window, Pierre flew away at high speed towards an unknown destination.

His owner sighed. "Oh, what do I do now. I don't even have Pierre."

Francis put on his coat, preparing to leave for Alfred's house again.

"Maybe the gathering might do me some good. My social life's going down the drain."

* * *

"As much as I hate to admit it, it's getting quite lonely here."

Although he had gotten peace since Karey left a few days ago, now he wasn't so comfortable being alone.

He had no one to talk to, except the wall.

Although he usually liked talking to inanimate objects, it was getting boring.

"Harry?"

He lifted his head up at the voice. Karey was standing outside the door, which he'd forgotten to close.

"K-Karey? What are you doing here? I thought you were angry at me."

"Well, I was, kinda. But I can't really stay mad at you, you know."

"I'd never thought I'd say this, but it's nice to have you back for a change."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here, a neighbor found this near the house."

She handed him a white envelope. It was a letter...from his former best friend.

"Oh. It's that letter I kept as my so-called prized possession. I don't want it anymore."

"Wait, is that why it ended up half-buried outside?"

"Obviously! It was from the day he told me off about being emotionally unstable!"

"No offense, but you really were."

"Thank you soooo much. That helped A LOT." His voice sounded dangerous at the last two words.

"Uh, I gotta go. I have to make plans with Gwen for tomorrow."

* * *

Pierre would normally land anywhere to rest from flying.

Today, he landed on the best spot of a gray building.

He made himself comfortable and chirped away happily. Being outdoors made him feel free from Francis's new erratic behavior.

"Shut up you damn bird!" A stranger yelled, looking at him coldly.

Angry, Pierre flew towards an open window and mocked him.

Quite by accident though, he flew into the house. He was about to fly out, when he sensed something familiar.

"Chip! Chhhhhhiiiipp! Chippp?"

At the sound of his chirping, someone weakly responded, "What's...going on? Who's there?"

The bird moved closer to the person, and confirmed his identity as Toris lifted his head.

At first, the teen was astonished to see him, but slowly smiled and said, "P-Pierre? I-is that you?"

The songbird chirped happily, glad that he remembered his name.

"Listen, I need you to go back...and tell them where I am. You gotta be quick, though."

The sound of footsteps struck fear through both of them, but Toris managed to say:

"He's coming! Quick, you gotta get out now!"

Pierre seemed to pick up something in his beak. Before flying off, he gave Toris a last desperate look.

"Go!"

The bird flew off into the distance, knowing what to do.

* * *

At Alfred's house, everyone was discussing what they should do if they ever ran into their suspect.

"I say we beat the crap out of him and tell him what for!"

"But what if he's really tough? You can't do this by yourself, you know."

"Yeah, that's why I called in some backup."

"Really? Who'd you call?"

"Er, I don't know. The guy just yelled 'RIGHT AWAY! THOUGH I'M RELUCTANT' and hung up."

"What? You mean you just found a random number in the phone book?"

There was a knock on the door. Raivis ran to open it.

"You called for backup?" A firm, serious voice drew everyone's attention.

In the doorway was an 18-year-old blond boy with a gun in his hands.

But wasn't he supposed to be neutral?

"**Vash?**_"_

_

* * *

_

**Because the idea kept bugging me, I decided to put Pierre into this chapter.**

**He'll be in the next one as well.**

**Tune in next time for Chapter 8.**

**Stay tuned,**

**Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	8. Chapter 8: A close call

**Chapter 8 is up! Sorry it took so long, school's been dragging me down.  
**

**And a pretty good time for Vash to get involved, cause this situation's got a very low time limit.**

**As for Pierre, you'll find out what happens to him right here.  
**

* * *

"Vash, what are you doing here?"

"You know why I'm here. You're the one who called me!"

"Yeah, but aren't you supposed to be neutral?"

"Well, yes, but in a time like this, I should probably get involved."

"But how do we know you're just here for the sake of the phone call? You barely participated in the meeting!"

"STOP ASKING QUESTIONS ALREADY! I'm in. That's final." He banged his gun on the floor.

"Fine, fine, you're in. But if my floor breaks, you're paying for it."

* * *

"So, this is the plan."

"What is that? I can barely see it!"

On a piece of white paper, Alfred had drawn a diagram. Or at least, that's what it was supposed to be.

Ink-drawn stick figures and a lopsided square outlined the page, along with a few labels.

"Okay, so this square is supposed to be where Toris is. Vash, you're gonna be my backup, obviously. You'll stand right there. Arthur, you're supporting me in battle, so you'll be to my left. Francis, you're my other support, so you stand to my right. And of course, I'm gonna be the hero, so I'll lead the way!"

"Is that it?"

"I'm not done, Vash. So, if the door is locked, you'll break it down with one of your guns. Then we just go in and rescue Toris."

"But what if the enemy's present? Have you thought of that?"

"Then we beat the crap out of him!"

"What if he does that to you?"

"Ah, no worries. I can handle anything anyone throws at me, and Vash is gonna be there, so what am I scared of?"

"The kidnapper could be one of your crazy opponents from the past! You gotta be careful, Al."

"But I already beat them all in the past. I can do it again, you know."

England's expression soured, remembering the Revolutionary War. "Yeah, you did..."

"Anyway, why don't we all just agree to the plan? It seems okay to me."

"If you're coming, Francis, then change out of your flashy clothing."

"What are you saying? That I have no sense of style?"

"JUST DO AS ENGLAND SAYS YOU IDIOT!"

"Alright! I'll do it!" *whispers* "It's bad enough that I'm already scared of him..."

"Now, Alfred, where did you find Toris's phone?"

"In the middle of a vast lot."

"Do you remember what it looked like?"

"Um, it was just a big lot. It has barely any grass, a ton of old car parts and metal, and I remember this old house being close to it. But I don't exactly remember what avenue I was on; I was too preoccupied."

"That should still be enough information to figure out where he is. We'll start searching tomorrow."

Alfred turned away. "If he's still here tomorrow."

* * *

"Um, is it me or am I hearing noises here again?"

"No, that's just...the ghost of my former boss."

Karey could only nod in confusion. Lately, she felt like she had been hearing voices inside the old house. When she mentioned it to Harold, he simply told her it was the ghost of some historical figure. Although she seemed to believe him, she was still initially suspicious.

"I swear, if he mentions another 'ghost' we're never coming back here again.

That's when she heard the distinctive voice again- which seemed to come from the kitchen.

"That's it, I'm getting to the bottom of this."

Harold almost choked on his soda. "Wait!"

As Karey made her way to the kitchen, she looked around and saw...nothing.

"Maybe I'm starting to go insane from all this talk."

"Yes, maybe you are." Harold assured her, in an usually calm voice.

_Okay, now that's creepy. Since when has he been so calm? _"I...gotta go."

"Oh, okay. I'll just go out on another walk."

* * *

Pierre sure was glad to be getting closer to his house.

While flying, he had to dodge falling leaves, cats, hawks and even a few trucks.

It was like a typical messenger's trip, only more life-threatening.

But now, he was almost home, and nothing could stop him from delivering the news.

"Hey, aren't you that annoying bird that invaded my property?"

Pierre turned and saw some flying glass being thrown at him. He quickly jumped out of harm's way and started flying in another direction. He looked back and saw a familiar person chasing him. He didn't know what he wanted at the moment, but he was certain that the guy wasn't friendly.

Hastily, the bird dove into an alley and hid there. He watched as the same man walked right past it.

"Stupid bird." He muttered as he walked.

As soon as he was out of sight, Pierre came out and flew back to where he was going.

That had been a close call.

* * *

**-5:00 P.M.-**

After discussing plans, the nations went back home to prepare for whatever they were up against.

Francis had just gotten out of his car when he spotted a white fluff ball coming towards him.

He moved out of its way, mad at first. But his anger quickly dissipated when he saw who it was.

"Pierre?"

* * *

**Yes, you did it Pierre!**

**He went through a lot of trouble, but he was able to find who he was looking for.**

**Please review, chapter 9 will be up soon.**

**-Blue Cotinga Girl-  
**


	9. Chapter 9: Final Destination

**Finally, done! It took me longer than I thought to get ideas.**

**Alfred: When are gonna find the guy who took Toris?**

**Me: Soon, Al, I promise. And how did you manage to break the fourth wall?**

**Alfred: Cause I'm the hero, duh! Oh, and Arthur already broke it in chapter 5.  
**

**Me: *Sigh* Oh, right. Anyways, enjoy!  
**

**

* * *

Chapter 9**

"Pierre! You came back!"

Now that Pierre was back, Francis had one less thing to stress over.

"I'm sorry I was so rude before, and..OW! What are you doing?"

"Chiipp!" For some unknown reason, Pierre was now furiously pecking at Francis, annoying the nation.

"Stop it already! And what's that you're carrying in your beak?"

Right on cue, Pierre dropped it into his hands.

Francis gazed at the object, thinking it looked familiar. It was some sort of woven jewelery, like a friendship bracelet of some sort. He also saw that the bracelet had a pattern of red, yellow, and green, although right now it was streaked with dark red.

"Where have I seen this before...?" He was completely puzzled. Then he happened to shift his eyes to his wrist.

His eyes widened in realization as he looked at the weave bracelet he was wearing.

"No way. Does this...belong to Toris?" The bird flew around head, chirping madly.

Not wasting any time, Francis took out his phone and dialed Alfred's number on it. After telling him everything that was going on, he rushed back to the car with Pierre and drove back to where he came from.

* * *

"What does that drunkard want right now? This better be good. I have to go home and make tea."

"Guys!" The french nation burst in, Pierre flying beside him.

"Okay, make it quick. What is it that you have to show us?"

"When I got home, Pierre came to me and brought me this." He pulled the band out of his pocket.

Alfred grabbed it to get a closer look. "Hey, I gave this to him for his birthday last year."

Arthur gave Francis a hard look. "Where did you find this?"

"I didn't find it, Pierre did. Where he picked it up...I have no idea."

Meanwhile, Pierre had been restless all this time. He zoomed around the room trying to get everyone's attention. When that failed, he took desperate measures.

He glided right into France's face.

"OWWW!" Francis cried out. "What is it? Can't you see we're busy here?"

"Oh, speaking of which, I'll be right back." Alfred hurried into his room.

"Stop trying to drag me! Why do you keep acting like this?" France demanded as he started to walk away from the door, despite Pierre's clear protests. Pierre answered with a sharp "Chiiippp!" and tried to pull his owner toward the door again.

Arthur sighed. "If you were functioning correctly, you would know he's trying to take you somewhere..."

"Guys! Alfred told me that you found Toris." Eduard, Raivis, and Feliks were at the door, which Francis had conveniently forgot to close.

"But we didn't..." Francis was confused.

"Sure we did!" Alfred exclaimed, running out of the room. "If Pierre remembers where he found the bracelet, then he could lead us to our destination!"

"Was that what you were trying to do?" Pierre chirped loudly, and everyone took that as a yes.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Arthur looked out the window. "But we gotta hurry. It'll be dark within two hours, and I think I see thunderclouds outside."

Sure enough, tall, dark clouds were starting to roll in, a scenario all too familiar for Arthur.

"Okay, let's head out. And Vash, bring whatever guns you have. You three, stay here. It's too dangerous for you guys to go search with us. We'll bring Toris back soon, I promise."

"O-okay..." Raivis moved closer to Feliks. Eduard, meanwhile, was slowly standing up from his chair...

* * *

**-25 minutes later-**

"Is this it, Pierre?"

"Chhiippp!" Pierre flew and perched on top of a gray building.

"That probably means yes."

"From the looks of this place, we should take extra caution while entering." Arthur was now more wary and suspicious than before. Pierre, meanwhile, started making his way back to Alfred's house.

Alfred went over to the doorknob and tried to turn it. It didn't work.

Vash took out a shotgun. "Looks like we'll have to break this thing down."

The four of them leaned against the door. "When I count to 3, punch the door as hard as you can! 1..."

"2...get ready!"

As he said that, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

"...3!"

Thanks to their effort, the door flew out of its hinges and landed inside the door way.

"Anyone here? I demand you show yourself!" Vash pointed his gun into the darkness.

"Not yet, Vash...we might be dealing with a psychotic fiend."

"Huh." Alfred said as he flipped through a book. "Whoever this guy is, his handwriting looks familiar."

"It does, doesn't it?"

Startled, everyone turned to where the voice was coming from. A tall, muscular man with dark hair looked back at them.

"Alfred F. Jones. I've been expecting you." His voice was deep and spine-chilling, along with a nasty grin across his face.

"Harold Norm? Is that you?"

The other three were speechless as the Union and Confederacy locked eyes with each other.

* * *

**That's all I have to offer for Chapter 9.**

**Alfred, I'm guessing you're happy right now.**

**Al: Yes! Now I'll...**

**Um, keep your eyes open for Chapter 10! It'll be up soon, I promise!**

**Signed,**

**Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	10. Chapter 10: Raging battle, Part 1

**This chapter contains some bad language and major violence.**

**This isn't for those with a huge dislike of cursing and fighting.  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 10**

The other three could only exchange horrified looks as Alfred confronted Harold.

"Hm. I'm surprised that you even remember my name."

"Of course I remember you! I never forgot about what you did..."

"Well, all I wanted to do was to let my anger out in some way! And besides, I was drunk that night!"

"That's not a very good excuse to begin with. And besides, Fort Sumter was my friend too, and the memory had been bugging me. And all I did was was make sure she was alright by reporting it. But I swear, I wasn't the one who did it. Someone beat me to it, okay? So-"

"Don't lie to me, traitor!" He grabbed Alfred's shirt collar. "You ruined my life that year. Now I'm here to ruin yours."

With that, he threw Alfred into the wall. The American hit it hard, but managed to stand.

"Leave my brother alone!" Arthur tackled Harold, only to be quickly thrown off.

"Hey stop right there! What makes you think you can-" Francis recieved a heavy blow to his face, cutting him off.

Alfred marched up to Harold. "Just tell us where Toris is."

"No. And even if I tell you, you're still gonna have to get past me to find him."

He raised his hand to hit Alfred again, but Alfred managed to dodge and hit his enemy.

Vash, meanwhile, just stood there, wondering if this could possibly mean the end of his neutrality. He didn't like to fight, and never would. However, the only thing that outweighed his refusal to fight was his will to do the right thing.

"HEY, STUPID BASTARD! BACK OFF OR I'LL BEAT YOU WITH MY PEACE PRIZE!"

"Um, your peace prize isn't here..."

"Whatever. But still, someone's gonna get hurt REAL bad if they don't let us pass!" Vash raised his gun, preparing to shoot if anything happened.

"Oooh, a gun, I'm so scared! Nah, I got a gun too!"

Harold grabbed Alfred and held the gun to his head. "One false move and your beloved America gets shot!"

* * *

-**15 minutes ago-**

"Karey, have you seen Harold lately? He's been spending way less time in the house."

Karey looked up from her book. "Oh, he's always trying to hide from society, so I'm not too worried right now."

"But isn't this when he usually comes back? He's not very punctual, but he always arrives in time for dinner."

_Hmm. Aunt Isabella has a point,_ thought Karey. _I should probably check on him._

She pulled out her phone and found her brother on speed dial. She put the phone to her ear and waited.

"Ugh, I'm not here right now, so leave a message, but only if it's important! Now scram!"

_That's strange. His phone is ALWAYS on at this time of day._

"Aunt Isabella, I gotta go."_  
_

* * *

Arthur and Francis looked at each other. None of them knew what to do.

Vash, had something else in mind.

***Vash's thoughts***

Great. What do we do now?

I can't just point the gun at him, I don't want Al to be hurt.

The other two don't look like they're gonna do anything.

Looks like I'll...have to stop him myself.

I know this goes against everything I stand for, but it's the right thing.

***Reality***

"Arthur, take this." Vash shoved his gun into Arthur's hands.

"What the-what is this for?" Arthur stood there awkwardly, gun in hand.

"You're not planning to shoot me, are you? Cause if you are..." He jabbed the gun at Alfred's forehead, causing him to whimper in pain.

"No, but that gun's not getting any closer to Alfred." Harold turned as Vash punched him in the face.

Almost immediately, he let go of Alfred. Angry, he ran over at Vash, who kicked him in the stomach.

"OW! Stupid boy, don't mess with me!" He yelled as he slammed Vash onto the floor.

"You...bastard!" Although his vision was starting to blur, it wasn't time to stop now.

He could barely see Harold advancing on the other three blondes. Groggily, he got up and tried to run toward them.

"So, Alfred F. Jones, how does it feel to have a taste of your own medicine? Well it's about time you faced the consequences of snitching!"

"Did you forget about this?" Arthur pointed Vash's gun at his enemy's face. The two gunmen were about to pull their respective triggers when...

"I'm gonna make you die a little today!" Vash had both his arms around Harold's neck, and was pulling him away.

"You little..." Harold aimed his gun...**BANG.**

Vash fell back from the force of the bullet, hitting his head hard on the wall.

"VASH!"

* * *

"Like, has anyone seen Eduard anywhere?"

"No, I was going to ask you the same thing."

After the four blond nations had left, Eduard himself had mysteriously disappeared.

"He isn't anywhere in the house or the backyard. How did he slip out without anyone seeing him?"

Feliks looked to his left. "Like, isn't that window supposed to be closed?"

"Yeah..." Raivis went over and closed it. That's when he noticed footprints in the dirt outside. "Hey, you don't think..."

"Oh, like, I get it now. Eduard probably climbed out the window, and now he's like, hunting for a potentially deadly criminal. WAIT WHAT?"

_To be continued..._

_

* * *

_

**And I'm gonna stop there for today.**

**I promise the next chapter will be up soon.**

**That way, I won't have to leave you hanging.**

**Peace,**

**Blue Cotinga Girl.  
**


	11. Chapter 11: Eduard's Odyssey

**I'm back, everyone!**

**Al: Heyy, we got a little...problem.**

**Me: What is it?**

**Al: We're at a disadvantage right now! It's such a crisis!**

**Me: I'll take care of that in a moment. *Whispers* Let's see what our favorite Estonian is up to.**

**Al: What was that? Did I just hear you say "Estonia?"**

**Me: No, no, that was just...uh, slip of tongue!  
**

* * *

Eduard hid behind a shrub, hoping no one would see him.

He had dealt with his concern for Toris for the entire week, but he just couldn't take it anymore.

All he wanted was to see his brother again-which lead to him following Alfred as soon as he left the house. He was careful not to be seen, however.

After the first five blocks, he came out of hiding and walked right behind them.

They didn't seem to notice, which was a good thing. If they had, they would definitely freak, or even hold a slight grudge in Arthur's case. He strolled calmly and quietly near the unsuspecting heroes, when all of a sudden there was a loud snap from the twig he had stepped on.

The four turned around in alarm. They laid their eyes upon the branch, which had clearly been walked on. Yet, they saw no one.

"For heaven's sake, I swear someone's been following us..."

"It was probably just the wind, or Pierre freaking out over the thunderclouds."

"No, it can't be the wind. Just can't be." Vash, for the first time, looked worried.

"Let's just go. We can't have distractions, remember?" Alfred stated in determination.

The others looked at each other, nodded, and moved on, although Vash still glared at the empty space behind them.

As they left, a pair of sapphire eyes peered at them from behind a wall.

Eduard breathed a sigh of relief. That had been too close.

He continued on, hiding from them at every opportunity.

He had been following them halfway when they got to a traffic light.

They had gone across just as it turned orange, and when he continued, a car flew right past him, barely making contact.

"OUTTA MY WAY, STUPID KID!" A vicious-looking man sped by, glaring daggers at Eduard.

In turn, Eduard rolled his eyes. "Wanker."

Looking around, he knew that the group had walked out of sight now, and he had no way of getting to them.

He shook his head and walked straight foward.

But as he did, he looked to his left and saw two headlights.

In a fit of apprehension, he backed away and fell onto the dirt road. Luckily for him, the car stopped just in time.

"Hey, aren't you the same kid who got in my way before?"

Eduard REALLY didn't feel like answering to him. He just turned and ran.

"Get back over here! You need to be taught a lesson!" The guy pulled over and ran out after him.

_Oh shit. This isn't gonna go well. _

In his haste, he felt he had dropped something. But that wasn't important right now.

Quickly, he dashed into an alley and hid behind a dumpster, hoping he wouldn't be seen.

He heard quick footsteps and tumultuous words, which faded in a flash.

Relaxing a bit, Eduard walked out and bounded into the sidewalk...and smacking into something as soon as he did.

After dropping to the ground, he looked up to see his assailant scowling at him.

"Hmmm. You're not as innocent as you seem, are you?" The man narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"Oh, I don't really know what you're talking about. Why don't we discuss that in, like, a million years..." He slowly stood up.

As he tried to walk away, he felt something strike the back of his head.

The man had thrown a wallet at him. _Oh, so I did drop something._

"You know him, don't you?"

"Um, who? I don't understand a thing you're saying." But deep down, Eduard was beginning to piece together the facts, and now suspected that this man had possibly hurt someone, and wouldn't hesitate to injure another. His victim very well could've been...

"Don't lie to me, brat! I saw your little family photo in your wallet."

"Uh-um-but-uh-" There was nothing Eduard to say to help himself. Now, he was sure that this was definitely the guy who took his brother.

"Whoever your little friend is, I found him wandering around my property a week ago. He looked just as innocent as you did, but he...he was part of that divine conspiracy as well! For all I know, that stupid Alfred F. Jones probably sent him to steal any secrets I happened to spill! Since he knows about my true intentions, I'm making sure he never tells anyone-even if I never let him see the light of day again."

Eduard paled in apprehension. He had to be careful, for he was dealing with a spiteful nutcase.

"What did you do with my brother?" He blurted out, finally snapping out of his trance.

"No time to explain. I must go home now." The stranger walked across the street and started towards a gray building.

Eduard followed him. "You're not going anywhere until I get answers!"

* * *

"Eduard! You stupid idiot!" Feliks softly cursed to himself.

They had been wandering the streets for twenty minutes, but still no sign of the blond nation.

"F-Feliks, don't you think you're taking this situation a little too, uh, abruptly? W-we have no idea what we're doing right now."

"Like, don't argue with me! It's bad enough that Liet's missing, now Eduard's gone nuts and the entire world is going through a shift! What can I do these days? Like, I don't even have time to go to the mall anymore! The world is. NOT. KIND!"

Raivis frowned at his sudden attitude.

"Oh, I'm really sorry, Raivis. I'm just- not good with sudden changes, that's all."

They kept on wandering the streets, seemingly hopeless at first.

"...Stupid brat! Didn't your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?"

"W-what's that noise?"

* * *

**Al: Oh, so you were saying Estonia.**

**Me: *sigh* Guilty as charged.**

**Al: Man, I hope that kid isn't in serious trouble.**

**Me: We'll see. I hope you're ready to re-enter your battle.**

**Al: Of course I am! I'm the hero, after all! :D**

**Me: We'll be back (hopefully soon) with the next chapter.**

**From, your fellow author Blue Cotinga Girl-**

**Al: AND ALFRED F. JONES! :D  
**


	12. Chapter 12: Raging battle, Part 2

**Finally! Chapter 12! **

**Sorry for the extreme delay, guys. My computer had been quite stubborn lately. D:**

**Al: Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. When do I save everyone like I always do?**

**Soon, Alfred, soon. **

**

* * *

Chapter 12**

In a panic, Alfred ran toward his fallen comrade.

"Vash..." He kneeled down next to him, putting a hand on his forehead.

Meanwhile, an infuriated Arthur had jumped on top of Harold, cursing and threatening to blow his head off.

"Shut up, you damned brit!" Harold threw Arthur off of him, causing the latter to land hard on the floor. He made his way back to Alfred and yanked his arm.

"Now, to finish what I started." He grinned evilly, pushing the barrel of the gun against Alfred's hair.

"Please, Harold, you've got to believe me. It really wasn't my fault. I may have gotten into many fist fights then, but I swear, when I got there, the police told me that someone already gave out the information."

"And why should I believe you?" He tightened his grip on Alfred's arm.

Alfred gulped. "Okay, it was a traumatic experience for both of us. We were both young, remember? I only wanted to ensure your safety. I never thought that a great split would happen between us just because of that, or that horrible war between us and our other friends. I didn't know. So, Harold, I have just this to say: CAN YOU FORGIVE ME?"

Harold's eyes widened. This very man, the one who betrayed him, was asking him for forgiveness?

"Alfred F. Jones." He mumbled, looking away.

"Yes?"

"Well, all that was a lot of trouble for me. It was also a lot of trouble for you, Karey, and all our siblings and classmates as well. I was torn from the inside out in the shadows of war...which is why you'll NEVER receive my forgiveness!"

"No no no no no! Please reconsider!" The next thing he heard was a click, footsteps and...a woman's voice?

"Harold? Aunt Isabella wants you to go home for dinner. And why haven't you been answering your- wait, WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?" Karey Norm froze in shock and fear when she saw her brother pointing a gun at a familiar face.

"Alfred F. Jones? Is that you?" That only added more to her awe.

"Sup, Alabama? And perfect timing too. Could you please get this freak off of me?"

"No need for the nickname, sweet Alfred." She said, smiling kindly before throwing a dirty look at her brother. "Harold Norm, I thought you'd given up on crime!"

"I had, Karey. Until he suddenly decided to show up in my life once more." He glared down at the struggling American.

"That's no reason for turning back around. And besides, you two are supposed to be best friends, right?"

"That would've been right...back when our residence was entirely farmland. Now, things will never be the same again, now that I know exactly who betrayed me."

"I...wouldn't call that betrayal."

"WHAT?"

"And, it wasn't sweet, heroic Alfred who did it. I know for sure."

Harold winced at the words praising his enemy. "And how can you be so sure?"

"Because..._I did it_."

"Um, am I going deaf? Because it almost sounded like you said you did it."

"Because that's what I said. Fort Sumter was my good friend, and I had been looking out for her that week due to her paranoia and fear of being an open target to assault. And guess what? That's exactly what happened, when I went to give you your book back and saw you doing just that! I had to report it. It was the only way."

Her brother just stood there, paralyzed by astonishment. Alfred saw this as an opportunity to pull out of his grasp.

"And now that I've made my point, there's definitely something going on in that kitchen. And I'm going to find it, no matter what you say." Austerely, she marched into the kitchen to investigate.

"Karey. As a brother, I have to say...YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, WOMAN!" But she didn't seem to be listening.

"Traitor, get back here!" He ran towards her and was about to slap her when he felt a sharp pain on his back, and the ground quickly rushed to meet him.

"I don't think that will be necessary." Francis Bonnefoy had his fist raised, preparing to defend himself from anything this man threw at him.

Harold stood back up. "Sorry, French boy, but there's no room here for traitors _or _their sidekicks."

Francis saw a brick coming toward him, and in an instant, everything was gone. The last thing he heard was someone calling his name.

* * *

"Eduard..."

Amongst the darkness, Eduard heard someone call his name. A soft, familiar voice.

He was too weak to answer back. All he remembered seeing was a fist towards his face...

"Eduard? Eduard! Wake up, it's me, Raivis!" He felt a hand on his shoulders.

"R-Raivis!" The Estonian opened his eyes to see a relieved Raivis and a furious Feliks.

"Like, what the hell were you thinking, going out there all by yourself?"

"Don't blame me!" Eduard sat up, annoyed. "Wouldn't you do that if your brother was missing?"

"I don't have a brother!"

"But still! You get my point!"

Feliks sighed. "I know, Eduard, I know. But if Liet is somehow alive and finds out that you weren't, how'd you think he would feel?"

Eduard closed his eyes. "Agonized. Fragile. Lost. I know so, cause that's exactly how I feel right now." He opened his eyes and stood up. "That's why I'm here. It's the only way to get rid of it all."

"Eduard, where are you going?"

"To take back what he stole from me. I know he's in that gray building over there."

Raivis turned to Feliks. "Who's _he_?"

"Eduard von Bock! Like, get back here right this instant!"

Eduard ignored him and grabbed a rusted frying pan from a junk pile. "No. And there's no way you'll stop me."

Right after he spoke, he bounded into the building.

"Eduard! Nooooo!"

* * *

"Take that, Frenchie!" Harold yelled triumphantly, looking at the Frenchman lying on the floor.

Alfred, meanwhile, stood alone as the only one not injured.

"I'll take care of her later. I'm only focusing on killing you right now, America." He smiled evilly and pointed his gun. This was it. Alfred F. Jones would finally pay.

Harold didn't notice that he was standing with his back to an open doorway. That was his downfall.

**CLANK!**

Before he could fire, he fell to the ground, unmoving. The blond boy behind him twirled the frying pan in his fingers and smiled.

"That's what you get for child abuse and brother-napping!"

"Eduardddd!" Alfred suddenly had his arms around the Estonian. "Thank you Eduard, thank you, thank you..."

"That's enough, Al..." Alfred released his grip on him. "How did you find us?"

"Well, I was probably gonna get in trouble for it, but I followed you guys, which kinda explains Vash's paranoia." He said, smiling nervously.

His friend simply shrugged. "It was a good thing you followed us, though. You're here, and we've won the fight, so no harm done, my friend." He patted Eduard on the shoulder.

Eduard smiled-then remembered something. "Toris! We gotta find him!"

"Hang on, we might have to search the whole house."

"I don't think you'll have to." Came a shaky voice from the kitchen.

They both looked into the room to see Karey standing before a suspicious-looking door.

"This is the only part of the house he doesn't allow me to enter. You might find your friend in here."

The threesome opened the door and went in. The lighting in the room was horrible, so they turned on the light.

"Toris? Are you in here, buddy?" Alfred called out as he walked further into the room.

"Hey, I think there's someone over here." Karey stated from the other side of the room.

Not wasting any time, he dashed over in concern.

Upon reaching there, his suspicions were confirmed.

"Toris!" He cried when he saw his injured, bound friend lying on the floor.

"Toris..."

* * *

**Finally, an end to that crazy, raging battle.**

**However, Al still has four wounded friends to take care of...**

**Al: I know. D:**

**Me: Sorry, Al.**

**The next chapter will probably be my last, so stick around for the conclusion of this story, I guess.**

**-Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


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